There were six states that did not lock down with the rest of the country. All six had republican governors. A couple states, Utah and Florida, in relative quick fashion opened up as well. Those 8 states are all represented in the top 15, and 2 of which were ranked first and second. The result is clearer at the bottom of the ranking, with the worst ranked being New Jersey, DC, New York, New Mexico, California and Illinois.
In the Substack Silent Lunch, David Zweig concluded the best advice during covid was that if you felt sick, to stay at home. It seems all of our mother's from decades ago knew best.
I agree with a lot of the criticisms of the Democrats above - like most investors I am socially liberal but economically pro-market - but there's a danger we just project our own views on why Harris lost.
For example, I agree that Biden's climate policies probably costed Harris votes; but I honestly don't think that many voters in Blue Wall states switched parties because of the tax on buybacks.
Taking a leaf from our experience with Brexit in the UK, I would say that voters are far more driven by emotions than by economics, and we probably all have an in-built hostility to peopple who don't look and sound like us. America First is a simple, powerful political message.
The corollary is Democrats should start stealing tricks from the Trump/MAGA playbook. Every policy should be packaged as populist and pro-USA. And drop the identity politics stuff that cost votes.
Excellent column, especiaily the points about trade-offs. All policy decisions are trade-offs and, in many areas, the Dems have been getting them wrong. However, I think you are wrong to characterize Joe Biden as a "doctrinaire interventionist." I see more pragmatism and perhaps political opportunism than doctrine behind most of his "intervention." I also would argue that the FTC's work under Biden was not an anti-business tilt as much as an effort to 1) impose on Big Tech some of the same rules of the gamr that have applied to other American businesses for some time and 2) address the concentration of economic power in ever fewer hands and 3) return anti-trust law to its broader, original roots rather than reply on the very limited "consumer benefit" test that Robert Bork and others succeeded in making the benchmark in the U.S. for the last 45 years, opening the way for diminished competition in many industries.
Your essay rhymes with an excellent column David Brooks wrote a decade ago, "Why Moderation Matters." The theme was that moderates (Aka: grown-ups) know that difficult policy choices nearly always involve trade-offs. This sensibility has been lost in both parties. In defeat, we Democrats need to re-examine our approach, just as you say, Roger.
Bravo! At the least, we need a vibrant and accountable two party system. Ideally, in my eyes, the strength of the extremes in both parties calls for a third party alternative. In any event, as a former D - now independent - you capture many of the issues of the Democrats perfectly. Well done!
the Democrats moral absolutism is a thin veneer for their totalitarian lust for power and graft. While the author is insightful about economics and finance, his understanding and conclusions regarding the pandemic and "vaccine" are lacking.
I'm not sure there's a lot you can do when the average American has completely lost their grip on reality. The average Gen Zer believes "financially successful" is an annual salary of $588,000. How are you supposed to please that person?
The NBER report on state's response to covid actually does have a party color to It's results. Published in the International Journal of the Economics of Business (paywall), but free here https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w29928/w29928.pdf.
There were six states that did not lock down with the rest of the country. All six had republican governors. A couple states, Utah and Florida, in relative quick fashion opened up as well. Those 8 states are all represented in the top 15, and 2 of which were ranked first and second. The result is clearer at the bottom of the ranking, with the worst ranked being New Jersey, DC, New York, New Mexico, California and Illinois.
In the Substack Silent Lunch, David Zweig concluded the best advice during covid was that if you felt sick, to stay at home. It seems all of our mother's from decades ago knew best.
I agree with a lot of the criticisms of the Democrats above - like most investors I am socially liberal but economically pro-market - but there's a danger we just project our own views on why Harris lost.
For example, I agree that Biden's climate policies probably costed Harris votes; but I honestly don't think that many voters in Blue Wall states switched parties because of the tax on buybacks.
Taking a leaf from our experience with Brexit in the UK, I would say that voters are far more driven by emotions than by economics, and we probably all have an in-built hostility to peopple who don't look and sound like us. America First is a simple, powerful political message.
The corollary is Democrats should start stealing tricks from the Trump/MAGA playbook. Every policy should be packaged as populist and pro-USA. And drop the identity politics stuff that cost votes.
For now. Wait till trump and his cohorts do their daddy’s duty. Then ask again.
Excellent column, especiaily the points about trade-offs. All policy decisions are trade-offs and, in many areas, the Dems have been getting them wrong. However, I think you are wrong to characterize Joe Biden as a "doctrinaire interventionist." I see more pragmatism and perhaps political opportunism than doctrine behind most of his "intervention." I also would argue that the FTC's work under Biden was not an anti-business tilt as much as an effort to 1) impose on Big Tech some of the same rules of the gamr that have applied to other American businesses for some time and 2) address the concentration of economic power in ever fewer hands and 3) return anti-trust law to its broader, original roots rather than reply on the very limited "consumer benefit" test that Robert Bork and others succeeded in making the benchmark in the U.S. for the last 45 years, opening the way for diminished competition in many industries.
Amen.
Your essay rhymes with an excellent column David Brooks wrote a decade ago, "Why Moderation Matters." The theme was that moderates (Aka: grown-ups) know that difficult policy choices nearly always involve trade-offs. This sensibility has been lost in both parties. In defeat, we Democrats need to re-examine our approach, just as you say, Roger.
(Here's a link to Brooks' good column: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/opinion/brooks-what-moderation-means.html)
Bravo! At the least, we need a vibrant and accountable two party system. Ideally, in my eyes, the strength of the extremes in both parties calls for a third party alternative. In any event, as a former D - now independent - you capture many of the issues of the Democrats perfectly. Well done!
the Democrats moral absolutism is a thin veneer for their totalitarian lust for power and graft. While the author is insightful about economics and finance, his understanding and conclusions regarding the pandemic and "vaccine" are lacking.
I'm not sure there's a lot you can do when the average American has completely lost their grip on reality. The average Gen Zer believes "financially successful" is an annual salary of $588,000. How are you supposed to please that person?